Celtics take it to frazzled Bulls early, often
The Bulls tried a color-coordination theme for this year's playoffs. As it turned out, though, the fans were the ones left seeing red.
Back at home with a chance to take a series lead against the defending NBA champion Boston Celtics, the Bulls coughed up turnovers, tossed up bricks and were generally swept away by a green wave, losing 107-86 on Thursday at the United Center in a game that was never close after the six-minute mark of the second quarter.
"They came out and hit us right away," Bulls rookie Derrick Rose said. "We turned the ball over, weren't good at all. Next game will be different."
In the previous three games against the Celtics without injured all-star Kevin Garnett, the Bulls averaged 115 points. In this one, they shot 37.5 percent from the field and needed a late flurry of points from the reserves to even reach 86.
This must have been what Paul Pierce had in mind when he claimed the Celtics had only played their 'C' game during the first two in Boston.
"Tonight we tried to play a little bit harder and a little bit faster," said Pierce, who led Boston with 24 points. "We feel like we can still play better basketball."
Can the Bulls play any worse? Well, it's always possible, but this performance ranked among season's stinkers. They finished with 22 turnovers, compared to 14 assists. They trailed by 22 at halftime and by 34 midway through the fourth quarter.
The Bulls won 14 of their last 16 home games in the regular season. Now trailing in the series 2-1, the Bulls will try to pull even Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
"I don't think any of our guys were nervous," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I just think everyone was trying to get it done themselves. No one in this league is good enough to do it by themselves. You have to work as a team and that's what we talked about."
A day after being named Rookie of the Year, Rose had an ordinary game, finishing with 9 points, 2 assists and 7 turnovers. Coming off his 42-point performance Monday, Ben Gordon scored just 15, although it was a team-high.
No doubt the Bulls were jittery in this one. After shooting 90.2 percent from the foul line in the first two games, they missed 9 free throws in the first half alone.
As usual, the Celtics trapped the Bulls guards and fouled a lot. Faced with constant double-teams, the Bulls often chose to dribble through traffic instead of trying to find to the open man. They also tossed careless passes, fumbled away good passes and generally just stunk up the court from start to finish.
"It wasn't a selfish thing, by any stretch," Del Negro added. "I just think everybody wanted it so bad and everybody was trying to do it themselves, whether it was Derrick or BG or John (Salmons) or whoever. It wasn't a selfish thing, it was maybe an experience thing, trying to get it back very fast."
As the teams headed back into the locker rooms, the Celtics sent a stream of profane trash talk down the hallway toward the Bulls, according to witnesses.
"Whatever they say really doesn't have anything to do with our mindset," Gordon said. "We've got to be focused, regardless of how they act after a win. I know this is not us. We just have to come back Sunday and be ready to play."
Celtics guard Rajon Rondo (20 points, 11 rebounds) was helped into the locker room by a pair of teammates after the game, but the team insisted he's not injured beyond the mild ankle sprain suffered in Game 2.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Photo Galleries</h2> <ul class="gallery"> <li><a href="/story/?id=288847">Images from Bulls-Celtics Game 3</a></li> </ul> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=288867">Celtics waste no time dismantling Bulls<span class="date"> [4/23/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288841">Special game calls for special paint job<span class="date"> [4/23/09]</span></a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=288858">Rose 'shocked' by rough night<span class="date"> [4/23/09]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>